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Wednesday, 23 December 2015

The Reader on the 6.27

It's official
– I seem to be liking translated books* after years of avoiding them! The
Reader on the 6.27 is by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent ( and was originally
written in French).

The
translation is excellent – particularly given that one character regularly
spouts Alexandrine verses.

It's a
quirky little book with very quirky but engaging characters.The author understands that less is often
more.The book is an easily read 200
pages (my copy had small pages and largish print which makes a nice change).

Every lover
of books should read this book.For me
it was testament to the affirming power of reading for everyone.

What else
can I say without spoiling the book for you? The 6.27 is a morning train in
Paris which the main protagonist Guylain catches to work. The book is a little
strange, quite eccentric and even a tad romantic – but the writing is spare and
real and moving.